Superintendent-School Board Relations That Work

School Administrator, August, 1994 by Elizabeth Donohoe Steinberger

Despite Changing Casts, These Four School Communities Stayed on Track

In 1956, when an AASA committee met to hammer out differences over a lengthy manuscript on school board-superintendent relationships, the 10 members' primary concern was that the descriptions painted "too dark a picture"

Many districts still were reeling at the time from intense community conflicts associated with school system consolidations. From the 1920s to the 1950s, the number of school districts in the United States dropped from 130,000 to 80,000.

Today the strains on school board-superintendent bonds in the 13,700 remaining districts typically stem from conflicts within rather than across communities. Declining government financial support, increased socioeconomic and cultural diversity, and violence in schools are among the volatile issues that threaten delicate relationships between those who make and those who implement policy.

Cases of fragmented school boards and revolving-door superintendents abound, but we also see engaging examples of board-superintendent relationships that work-that survive dynamic changes in the school districts and communities in which they function and still manage, as one veteran put it, "to keep the romance alive even though the honeymoon may be over."

Where do these relationships exist?

And what in these relationships brings out the best in people and in learning outcomes?

Superintendents, board of education members, and involved citizens from four public school districts across the county- Cherry Creek in the suburbs of Denver, Lowpoint-Washburn in northern Illinois, Kenmore-Tonawanda in western New York, and Newport-Mesa in southern California-reflect on their changing communities and their changing relationships.

Cherry Creek

Superintendent Bob Tschirki has been at the helm of Cherry Creek schools only five years, but he is no stranger to the stress that serious school budget cuts can put on community and board relationships. Nor was he a newcomer to suburban Denver schools or the state legislature when he returned to Colorado in 1990 after serving as deputy executive director at AASA.

Tschirki already had demonstrated expertise in navigating a neighboring school district through major budget reductions. During his eight years as district superintendent in Littleton, which borders Cherry Creek, he earned a solid reputation for increasing public awareness of school finance issues, building community support, encouraging bottom-up educational reform, and establishing high expectations for staff, students, and schools.

Nancy Spence, a former school board president, says Tschirki "gave us our wake-up call."

Cherry Creek, with an enrollment of 33,000 students, long had been considered a "lighthouse" school district. "Perhaps we had gotten a little complacent, maybe even a little lazy. But we became alert in a hurry and we realized we needed to take a hard look at ourselves," Spence explains.

Changing Needs

When the school board appointed Tschirki, the district faced serious financial constraints and increased demands from a more vocal and more diverse student population and constituency.

The district has fewer dollars per student today than five years ago, and the student population has become "more complex and more academically and emotionally needy."

Some areas of the district have a 50 percent mobility rate and more than half of the school children receive free or reduced-price lunches. The district's bilingual population, single-parent families, and families with two working parents have increased substantially. The school system expelled more students (about 50) for incidents of violence or possession of weapons in 1992-93 than for all its nearly 40 years.

In some respects, the changes brought positive outcomes. Tschirki and board members focused on what counts. "Today, we have to identify clearly what we are about and what we stand for. It has been a real challenge to keep riveted on this and to let go of some of the things we used to stand for," says Tschirki.

A Different Style

Before Tschirki arrived, the board had worked with short-term and veteran administrators. The veteran superintendent had served for 15 years before retiring. During this time, the expanding school system built new schools in housing developments sprouting across the district. The next superintendent served for almost two years and left to become a consultant.

Parent Moselle King describes Tschirki as having a different style than his predecessors. An active community member and past president of Cherry Creek's districtwide parents' council, King has worked directly with Tschirki and board members and attended board meetings regularly for the past two years. She describes Tschirki as "coming into his own."

The previous veteran superintendent, for instance, built strong relationships with parents and the community. In many ways, says King, he was a "cheerleader for parents." His style helped develop strong community support during a climate of growth, but in an environment of intensive demographic changes and financial constraints a different approach is needed.